Chapter Seven

Mariah opened her eyes and found she was in a bathroom. She looked around and saw her bag was there. Her elvish clothes were gone and she wore a swimsuit. Mariah still had the towel wrapped around her though. A knocking on the door startled her out of her thoughts.

"Sorry! Coming!" She said and slowly stood up.

Mariah looked in the mirror and seen she looked tired. She felt tired. She went to the door and unlocked it, walking out of the bathroom, with her bag and stuff.

Mariah saw her mother, step father, sister, and little brother. They were all in the water playing.

"Was it all a dream?" Mariah thought to herself. Nothing has changed. She's in her bathing suit when she should be in that elven dress.

"Mariah!" Shouted a female voice.

Mariah looked over and seen it was her sister. She ran over to her and hugged her tightly. It felt so long since she saw her.

"Mariah…? Are you okay? Did someone bother you?" Alexis asked in a worried tone. "You look worn out."

Mariah didn't speak. Instead she shook her head and let go of her sister. It was all a dream. Kili, Thorin, Fili…everyone, middle Earth and the elves, just a dream. She looked down to her necklace and seen it wasn't glowing at all. It was dull and lifeless just like when she received it from her grandmother.

Her heart felt like it sank to the ground. That love she felt for a man was all fake. He didn't exist. None of them did. There was no Kili and that felt so shattering to her. She felt like he was the only man, fake or real, who would ever love her.

"Can we go home? Please?" Mariah asked sadly.

"What? Is the sun too much for you?" Alexis teased.

"I just want to go home. I feel so tired…"

"You do look exhausted…" Alexis turned and yelled out to their mother. "Mum! Mariah isn't feeling too well! Can we go home?"

Their mother nodded to her question. "Sure! We'll meet you both at the car."

She was finally home and in her bedroom. She took a shower before and it felt so nice. Hot water had never felt so good. Her body was so sore. Maybe it was from laying there on the cement for who knows how long? Surely the cement isn't such a nice thing to lie on.

When she was in her room, she was dressing and noticed something on her arm. It was a red mark, like she was scratched but it healed up after a week. Mariah was confused at first. Did she scratch herself about a week ago and never notice? Her eyes widened when she realized it was the wound she got from an Orc arrow.

"So it was all real? Middle Earth wasn't fake!" She smiled to herself and then frowned. "I miss him so dearly…maybe I should go back. No, I should pack up for the journey. I should actually be ready this time!"

Mariah grabbed a paper and pen to write down a list of what she needed.

First aid kit:

Bandages

Tape

Antibiotic ointment

Antiseptic wipes

Aspirin

Gauze

Tweezers

Mariah frowned a bit. "Would the aspirin be too dangerous to use on them?" She put a question mark by the aspirin.

Solar powered phone charger

Sleeping bag

Water bottle

Food to cook over the campfire

Razor?

Shampoo and body wash

Deodorant

Sleeping bag

Hair ties

Toothbrush and toothpaste

That seemed good enough. She couldn't bring her whole room with her. As for clothes she could just pack a couple of shirts or whatever. Also, bring a jacket. She would need to buy a charger though.

Mariah thought for a moment. "I should bring my female supplies…"

She took out her phone and wondered if the picture she had with Kili was still on there. It was. Her heart melted at the sight of him. His hair looked dirty as so did his face, but he was hers. Well, is hers. Was, is…the whole time thing is very confusing to Mariah. She put the picture as her background on her phone.

"That's not weird…right?" She thought to herself.

"Mariah?" A voice came through the door. It was Alexis.

"Yeah?" She asked.

"May I come in?"

"Sure…"

Alexis came in and went over to Mariah. She sat down on the bed and looked over her shoulder.

"What are you up to?" Alexis asked.

"I'm just…" She covered her paper. "Writing stuff."

"Oh! Are you writing a story? Let me see!" She grabbed the notebook out from under her and started to read it. "Are…you leaving?"

Mariah shook her head but then sighed. "Well, in a way…it's too long of a story. I don't have much time until I need to be somewhere."

"Where?" She asked and looked at Mariah's phone, which was still lit up. "Who's that guy?"

She flipped her phone over and frowned at her sister. "It's no one."

"Doesn't seem like no one." Alexis said with a frown. "So, the stories Grandmother told us were true. Is that picture taken in that one place? I can't remember what Grandma said but…she spoke of a wonderful land." She paused for a moment. "The stories Grandma had told us as children, they were true. I know it. The way she spoke about it showed, but all the creatures she spoke of…" Alexis looked at her sister. "I thought they couldn't have been real."

"It's called Middle Earth." Mariah admitted.

"That's right…" She pointed to the necklace. "Grandma warned me before you got that. She told me you would change after she gave that to you. She told me the journey you would have. At first I didn't believe her, but deep down I knew it was true. Just like her stories."

"Kili…" She mumbled.

"What?"

"His name is Kili. He's a prince and…" She smiled with a sigh. "He's wonderful."

"How long were you away?" Alexis asked.

"I've been gone for…" She started to count and frowned. "I don't know. I lost track."

"Wow…" Alexis sighed and looked at the list. "I want to come."

"No." Mariah said without hesitation.

"Why not?" She asked with a frown.

"You belong here."

"I belong with my sister." Alexis said and stuck her tongue out. "You and I both know that we are best friends. We are like this…" She crossed her fingers. "We read each other's minds, Mariah. I want to go and have fun too. Maybe I could meet a cute girl or guy! Maybe an elf! I like elves."

Mariah laughed. "I'm on a journey with dwarves…all men. Also, they hate elves."

"…I'm tempted to actually change my mind now. They probably all smell and eat with food dangling out of their mouths." Alexis quivered. "And they probably smell like shit. If they sit near me then I'll spray them with body spray or something."

"You have no idea. I have gotten used to it. I know you won't. Hell, you'll probably eat with your back to them so you don't have to watch!" Mariah and Alexis laughed. "They are a bit polite around me because I am a woman, but they have gotten used to me so they kind of become men."

"If they fart, I don't give a shit who they are, I'll fucking sit on their face and fart." Alexis said and it made Mariah laugh so hard she was starting to cry.

When things calmed down Alexis looked at Mariah with puppy eyes. Mariah sighed and rolled her eyes. She couldn't say no to that face.

"Fine, you can come. We'll leave in a couple of days. I don't know if I can take you but I can try." Mariah warned with a serious expression. "Get stuff ready and also…bring bar soap and plastic bags. I know you'll want to bathe a lot." She laughed. "When you're on the journey, you don't really think nor have time to bathe. Also, there are dangerous creatures. If they say run or hide, we run or hide."

Alexis nodded and they started to plan out the stuff they would bring.

Mariah went to an electronic store the next day and had bought a solar powered phone charger. She even bought a water proof phone case. She was still going to put her phone in a plastic bag but…just in case.

She was in her room later that night and stared at her necklace. It looked like it glowed more than before. Almost like it was before she went to Middle Earth. Maybe it needed charged?

She told Alexis that tomorrow they would be leaving. Now, she just wanted a good night's sleep since they wouldn't be getting any for a while.

That night she had trouble sleeping. All she thought of was Kili. Kili, Kili, Kili. What was he doing? Was he alright? Did he know she was gone?

"Of course he knows I'm gone…" Mariah thought.

She remembered that in her world, a day that went by was a day in Middle Earth. It had only been a day or so. So everything should be fine.

Her chest started to warm up and she felt so sleepy all of a sudden. She heard that same hum from before. It sounded so much like Kili. How stupid was she? Everything reminded her of him, but this…had to of been him humming. She smiled at the thought of him humming and that lullaby put her right to sleep.

It was time to leave, Mariah told Alexis that they didn't need to say bye to their parents because time stopped here when they were in Middle Earth. They both had their bags on their backs, dressed in jeans, long sleeve shirt, and coat.

"Hold onto me and do not let go." Mariah ordered and she closed her eyes. "I need total silence and concentration…"

"Okay. I'll shut up." Alexis whispered.

"Close your eyes too…maybe it'll help."

Alexis did as she was told. A few minutes later they both felt airborne. They opened their eyes and the similar purple and black mist was back with the twinkling lights around her.

All too soon, they softly touched the ground of hard rock. The rocks were black, the color of coal. Not knowing where they were, Mariah looked ahead of her and seen a storm. She gripped Alexis's hand.

"Stay by my side. I know we are close to them. We'll just have to find them." After she spoke they began their small journey to find the company.

"How many are there?" Alexis asked.

"There are thirteen dwarves, one wizard, and one hobbit."

"All men?" The older one asked.

"Yes." Mariah answered.

"They aren't pervs are they?"

"They have their moments, but they do have manners when it comes to a lady." Mariah defended them.

"I see. You seem to like them. Are they your friends?"

"Yes." Mariah said and giggled. "Kili and I agreed to be sweethearts."

"Oh, jeez…" Alexis said with the roll of her eyes.

"Hey, hey…we are just taking things slow…"

"You two haven't kissed?"

"Not…on the lips. I mean he's kissed my cheek, forehead, head, and chin…and hand…" She trailed off with a smile.

"Come on, Dork." Alexis said and tugged her along.

They wandered for some time and Alexis gave the idea that they should sing.

"What do you want to sing a long too?" Mariah asked as she went through her music.

"Wake Me Up Before You Go Go! I need some Blam in my life."

Mariah laughed and played the song. They sang allowed and even danced to the music. The sisters were fans of Glee.

"Jitterbug." The two started to sing together in a deep voice.

"You put the boom boom into my heart!" The older one sang and acted like she was patting her heart.

"Do, do!" Mariah sang like a background singer.

"You send my soul sky high with your lovin starts. A jitterbug into my brain."

"Yeah, yeah!"

"It goes bang bang bang 'til my feet do the same."

"Something's bugging me. Something ain't right. My best friend told me what you did last night! You left me sleeping in my bed. I was dreaming, but…."

Then they both started to sing at the same time.

"I should have been with you instead!

Wake me up before you go go.

Don't leave me hanging on like a yo yo.

Wake me up before you go go.

I don't wanna miss when you hit that high

Wake me up before you go go

'Cause I'm not planning on going solo.

Wake me up before you go go

Take me dancing tonight."

They both started to sing in a high pitch voice.

"I wanna hit that high yeah, yeah!"

They continued to sing until the song was almost over when she heard someone yell from behind them.

"There she is!" Yelled a strong and powerful voice. It sounded like Thorin. "She's with someone!"

Mariah stopped her music and turned her phone off, did her little routine of putting it away as she turned to face the voice. Down the path she could see a huge group of men. It was the dwarves. She scanned the group for Kili and smiled happily when she seen him.

"Come on!" She said to Alexis and took her hand.

They both ran back from where they were coming from. Mariah saw Kili drop everything and run to her. His face was a happy 'I'm glad you are alive' look.

She let go of Alexis and swung open her arms, Kili caught her in his and spun her around. She giggled as she felt her belly flutter from being spun around.

Kili put her down and grabbed her face between his hands. "Mariah, it's you…right? It's you my darling?"

"Darling?" Alexis said and then realized it was the guy from the picture. "Oh, that guy." She mumbled.

"Yes, it's me…" She said and frowned when she seen his expression was a sour and hurtful one.

"You left…you were gone for a couple of days. You…" He couldn't find the words and looked over, seeing Alexis. "Who's this?"

"Oh!" She let go of Kili and grabbed Alexis's arm. "Everyone, this is my big sister, Alexis."

"Hey." She said and crinkled her nose at the smell of the dwarves. She carefully looked around the group and shook her head. "I like my men short, but damn…" Alexis trailed off.

"Short huh?" Fili said with a sneer. "Then you'll definitely like this one." He pointed towards Bilbo.

Alexis looked at Bilbo up and down. She made a small squeak before cuddling Bilbo into her torso. "Oh my god, you're adorable!"

Bilbo swayed his arms, not being able to breathe. His face was right in her chest. Mariah felt a little sorry for the guy.

"Sis, you're suffocating him…" Mariah said and poked Alexis's arm.

"Oh…" She left go and Bilbo took a loud gasp of air.

"Lucky him…" Mariah heard Fili mutter to Kili.

"So, you went back to your world." Thorin said with no humor at all.

Mariah nodded. "I found out how to…then I came back. While I was there…I recruited my sister. Well she sort of begged me to take her."

Alexis stood there with a sour expression on her face. Mariah nudged her and Alexis sighed. "I asked her if I could come, not beg. I don't like the idea of my little sister being around just men." She looked over to Kili and then back to the rest. "You know older sibling protectiveness."

"I know what you mean." Fili said, nudging his brother.

"And it can get quite annoying sometimes." Kili added with a smirk at his brother.

"Yeah it can." Mariah added as well and stuck her tongue out at her sister.

"We can chat more about this later tonight. We must hurry. We have very little time." Thorin ordered and walked past Mariah and Alexis.

"Wow, he's such a charmer." Alexis said sarcastically.

"He's grumpy all the time. Trust me, you'll get used to it. But yeah that is Thorin, he's the king." She pointed to each dwarf as she said their names. "And finally Fili and Kili, Thorin's nephews." Mariah said and felt a gaze on her. She turned and Kili was looking at her.

He made his way over to her before speaking. "I must speak with you…" He looked over at Alexis before continuing. "Alone." Kili muttered to her.

"Later, Kili…we need to hurry. You heard your uncle." Mariah mumbled.

"Mariah…we need to talk now." He grabbed her arm and tugged her to a corner so they could have their space.

Mariah held up a finger to Alexis so she knew to stay there and give them space. Alexis wasn't too happy about Kili dragging her little sister away.

"Mariah, don't you ever do that again." Kili put his forehead to hers and his eyes were closed. "If you must go back to your world, please tell me first. You have no idea the pain and suffering I went through. I thought you left us…for good. Gandalf told us you would be back, but he too has left and then I started to have my doubts." He sighed and opened his eyes. "You are so important to me."

"Kili, I know. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to stay for so long." She frowned and kissed his nose. "I'm back now and possibly will never leave again. When I was away…I couldn't sleep. I couldn't get you out of my head. It's like you are a tattoo on my heart and brain. You're always there." She rolled her eyes. "That sounded better in my head."

Kili chuckled and picked her up bridal style. "Well, I'm glad you are back. I am also glad I was your every thought. You were mine as well." He carried her to the group and her sister couldn't help but smile when she seen how happy Mariah was but made a barfing noise to tease her little sister.

Kili put her down onto the ground. The line went Kili, Mariah, Alexis, and Fili. Mariah and Kili were chatting a lot, like they needed to catch up on everything. Fili and Alexis seemed to have gotten along too. They bonded over how stupid their younger siblings are.

"So where are we going anyways?" Asked Alexis.

"We are going to Erebor." Fili said.

"Yeah because I know what Erebor is." Alexis said with a roll of her eyes. "Okay, but what about the mountains ahead of us? What are they?" She asked.

"They are called the Misty Mountains." Kili answered.

"Misty Mountains…that sounds a bit unnerving." Mariah said.

"Just a bit…" Alexis added. "Let me guess, does it rain a lot?"

"It's not very safe but we need to pass though it to get to our homeland." Bofur said. "You missed quite a lot when you were gone, Lady Mariah."

"Bofur, please just call me Mariah…" She thought for a moment. "Anyone gossip about me?"

"My little brother couldn't stop whining about you." Fili said and then made a silly imitation of Kili complaining. He even tried to do Kili's puppy dog eye look. "Oh, where is she? Why isn't she back? Is she coming back? Did I scare her away when I asked her to be my sweetheart? I wish I could hold her right now."

"Oh, shut up. I was not like that." Kili growled.

"You were like that. You acted like a lost puppy." Bofur teased.

"Okay, okay…you guys can stop now." Kili sighed out.

"Did you really act like that?" Mariah asked as she nudged his side.

"Well, sort of…" He looked away as if he was ashamed. "I felt like I was going mental when you were away. Like I said, I didn't like that you were absent."

"I'm sorry…I should have told you." Mariah murmured.

"Please, don't do it again." He held her hand in his as they walked. "At least inform me first…"

"Okay, Kili." She said and leaned up, kissing him on the cheek. "I promise."

"Mariah was no different. She talked about Kili a lot. I was annoying…" Alexis added. "Kili, Kili, Kili…it made me want to shove a dirty sock in her mouth to get her to shut up."

"Ew!" Mariah said with a laugh.

"You laugh now but wait until I crack." Alexis said in what seemed like a joking way.

Sometimes it was hard to tell when Alexis was joking about this kind of stuff. Sometimes she meant it and others she didn't.

Later that night they all set up camp. Alexis was very confused as to why there were no tents. Mariah explained that they sleep outside, under the starts and on the ground.

"No." Alexis said. "There are bugs and you know I don't do well with bugs!"

"I don't either but you don't see me complaining…" Mariah said as she laid out her sleeping bag. "Just lay out your sleeping bag next to me."

"I'll sleep next to you." Kili said to Mariah and put his bedding by hers.

Fili put his on the opposite side of Kili. So it went Alexis, Mariah, Kili, and Fili. They all sat together and Mariah stood up.

"I'll be right back." She said and went over to her bag.

While she was bending over, rummaging through her bag, her butt crack was hanging out. Fili pointed it out to the guys and they all snickered. Alexis stood up.

"Watch this." She whispered and walked over to Mariah.

Mariah heard someone trying to spit but it didn't register in her brain until she felt wetness on her crack. She yelped and turned around to see it was Alexis. She was laughing her ass off just as much as the guys were.

Thorin wasn't around because he was keeping watch. Mariah whined and then stuck her hand in her pants to get the spit out.

"You Bitch!" She shouted and then started to chase Alexis with the spit that was on her hand.

Alexis ran away from her, shouting. "Stop it! No, that's fucking gross!"

"You spit in my ass crack!" Mariah complained and tackled her sister.

"What is going on?" Thorin said as he came back to the group. He spotted Mariah and Alexis. Mariah was on top of Alexis and Alexis was trying to hold her sister's arm away from her. "What are you-…I don't want to know. Just keep quiet. If you two are going to play then do it on a night we don't have to worry about Goblins and other dangerous creatures."

And like that, Thorin was off. He went back to his post.

"You two are something." Bofur said as he whipped away a tear. Everyone was calming down, every once in a while someone would chuckle.

"I'll get you back for that." Mariah threatened her sister.

"I'd like to see you try." Alexis said with a grin.

A/N: I hope bringing Mariah's sister, Alexis, into the story was okay. I figured she needed another female in the party. Being surrounded by men…has to be tiresome. FYI Alexis is inspired by my older sister. I asked if she wanted to be in my story and she was okay with it. I hope that when she reads this, if she does, she won't put a dirty sock in my mouth…It's going to be a little while before I'll be able to update again. Maybe a week…or a week and a half. My job has me working a lot of days this week. Anyway, thank you for reading!